Shadows were falling down everywhere, but more kept coming. Another hand met the side of my cheek, and I got knocked to the ground, the lantern flying out of my hand. The mist thickened, and I couldn’t see where it landed. I didn’t have time to go looking for it. I hopped back on my feet, kicking the assailant in the throat as I did so.
A hit to the back of my knees had me down again. Shadows towered over me, their hands reaching for my throat, my clothes, every part of me. I frantically grasped for anything to stave them off. The cool touch of the iron lantern met my hand. In a last-ditch effort to gain some ground, I smashed the lantern on the road, hoping beyond hope that the fire would catch.
It did.
Shadows scattered as the flames blew up in a great billowing blaze. The lantern fire was enchanted, ever burning. The iron had kept it contained, I realized. Without any boundaries, Irk Road would burn to pieces—Hesper and I would turn into plumes of smoke right along with our assailants. A hand grasped mine, and I tried to fight them off until I saw that it was Hesper, desperately trying to drag me out of the encroaching flames.
One bit of flame burned brighter, angrier than the rest. Whatever it had licked up seemed to be feeding its magic. I frantically grasped for my travel pack, but it was gone.And… right where the flames were quickly turning into a blaze rested a familiar shape.
My seeds. My everything. My hope. My Future. Turning to embers and ash right before my very eyes.
“No!” I screeched, reaching for the flames.
“Clara, don’t!” Hesper screamed, grabbing at my cloak as I ran toward the blaze.
The sudden stop sent me to the ground, and Hesper came down hard, too—another shadow on her back. But she wouldn’t let me go, and I wouldn’t give up. I tried to claw myself away from her, kicking at her face, grabbing for the jagged rocks in front of me.
“You’ll kill yourself!” she bellowed, as she wrestled the thing attacking her with one arm and held tight to my cloak with the other. But I didn’t care. I kept reaching, scrambling. I could still see the glowing orb in the midst of the fire, and I knew it was my seed pack. I had enchanted them to remain safe, to make it to Dwindle, togrow.
The magic was holding on, even as the flames devoured them. I could feel in my heart they weren’t gone yet. If I could get there in time, I may be able to save the seeds.
The blaze grew brighter, the heat so intense, the squirrel clasp on my cloak grew hot enough to burn my neck. I undid it, releasing myself from the hold Hesper had on me.
The fire reached toward the sky now, but I could still make out a faint outline of the seeds. I was so close. I would burn myself in the process, I knew that much. But at least I would have them. Foolish yes, but I had to hope. I had to try.
If those seeds were gone, there was no life left for me. I would fail Dwindle, I would fail Hesper, I would fail everyone.
And so, I ran straight for the flames, my hand outstretched. My fingertips singed, the heat truly unbearable, and I shut my eyes, bracing for the searing agony.
But then I was pulled away, familiar arms wrapped around me—my quarry once more thwarted by Hesper Altanfall. She wrenched me away as fast as she could, even as I bucked wildly in her arms. She wasn’t fast enough, though. The magic fire, fueled by the enchantments I’d placed on the seeds, finally exploded, and Hesper and I were thrown back by the force of it all.
We landed hard, Hesper much harder than me. She had cushioned my fall with her body, cradling my head with her hands. I rolled off her, raring to fight, but Hesper was deathly still.
A panic I had never felt before raced through me as I saw her unmoving body.
“Hesper,” I cried, grabbing her face. “Hesper, please!”
Nothing.
I pulled at her leathers. “No, no, no.” I frantically tried to see if there was another wound, but I saw no blood. I put my head to her chest, listening for a heartbeat. But the world outside was too cacophonous, and my own heart thundered in my ears.
The flames had engulfed the entirety of the road, taking shadows down with it. They howled into the night. There was no way I would have been able to hear her heart, beating or not.
“Don’t fucking leave me, Altanfall.” I put my forehead on hers. “I need you.” They were words I had never said before, words I fought hard to never say. But I didn’t care, not with her. My world was redefining itself the longer Hesper was init, and I couldn’t let her go now. The spark in my chest, always burning when we touched, raged hard in my chest.
Please, anyone, help us, I begged.Find us, save us.Hesper’s eyes fluttered open, and if I weren’t already on the ground, I would have collapsed in relief. But it was short-lived, for shadows began to encircle us once more, ignoring the fire consuming their comrades.
Was this it? Were we to die here? I had too much life left to live, too many memories still to make. Too much love still pent up in my bones that I’d never let out.
I couldn’t end like this—unfinished.
I let out a yell of sorrow, of rage, of the hatred perpetually roiling inside of me. The shadows stopped their pursuit for a moment. Just long enough for them to scatter at something even larger thundering through the dark.
A pack of golden horses appeared out of the fog and smoke, pulling a covered wagon cart behind them.
Ludwig’s toothy smile came into focus.
“Get in, get in!” he said hurriedly. The golden horses had burned the mist away fully and were unscathed by the flames licking at their hooves. Hesper threw open the wagon door and thrust me inside before jumping in herself. She shut the door behind her, locking us into the cramped space.
